Lot 189
CHINESE SOAPSTONE 'TREE AND ROCK' SEAL
ATTRIBUTED TO XU NAICHANG (1869-1943), LATE QING DYNASTY TO REPUBLIC PERIOD, 19TH-20TH CENTURY
Auction: 07 November 2025 from 10:00 GMT
Description
清末民初 徐乃昌款 壽山石雕樹石方印 帶題簽錦盒
款識：積學齋主人藏
印文：忠孝節義百行之冠冕
錦盒朱印：徐乃昌讀
of square form with natural stone slope top, the sides carved in relief with a continuous scene of a large fruiting tree issuing from rocky ground, all below swirling clouds, one side engraved with six-character Ji Xue Zhai Zhu Ren Cang (Collection of the Master of Jixuezhai), the seal face carved with nine characters, reading Zhong Xiao Jie Yi Bai Xing zhi Guan Mian (Loyalty, Filial Piety, Dignity, Righteousness, guide people in all their behaviours), with fitted cloth box, the cover of the box inscribed and sealed Xu Nai Chang Du (Xu Naichang read)
Dimensions
4.7cm high
Footnote
Xu Naichang (1869-1943), courtesy name Jiyu and alias Suian Laoren, was a native of Nanling, Anhui Province. He was a bibliophile and scholar in the late Qing and Republican eras. He came from a family of officials. He passed the imperial examination in the 19th year of the Guangxu reign (1893) and served as prefect of Huaian and then as the Jiangnan Salt Inspector. In 1902, he visited Japan to investigate educational affairs. Upon his return, he became the general director of the Jiangnan Higher School and, in 1905, the director of the Sanjiang Normal School (the predecessor of Nanjing University). After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he devoted himself to collecting and collating ancient books. He established the Jixuezhai Library, which houses over ten Song and Yuan dynasty editions and published over 560 volumes of classics, including the Jixuezhai Collection and the Suian Collection.
徐乃昌（1869-1943），字積余，號隨庵老人，安徽南陵人，清末民初藏書家、學者。出身官宦世家，光緒十九年（1893年）中舉，歷任淮安知府、江南鹽巡道，光緒二十八年（1902年）赴日考察學務，歸國後總辦江南高等學堂，1905年督辦三江師範學堂（南京大學前身）。清亡後潛心藏書與古籍校刊，建有積學齋藏書樓，藏宋元刊本10余種，刊刻《積學齋叢書》《隨庵叢書》等560余卷典籍。